Derek Mason serves as Head Coach for Middle Tennessee State University's Football program in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Derek Mason is in his third season as head coach of Middle Tennessee. Mason was hired to lead the Blue Raider program on Dec. 6, 2023 as MTSU’s 16 Mason, who spent the 2023 season working as an analyst for the SEC Network, had seven years experience as a head coach prior to being named the leader of the Blue Raiders. Prior to his television job, he coached in 2022 at Oklahoma State as the defensive coordinator and helped the Cowboys to a spot in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Prior to his stint at Oklahoma State, Mason served as the defensive coordinator at Auburn for the 2021 season. The Mason-led Tigers improved by 14.5% in third down defense from 2020 to move up 84 places in the final FBS rankings. Auburn also improved from the previous season in tackles for loss by 1.4 per game (up 65 places), rushing defense by 35 yards per game (up 33 places), first downs allowed by three per game (up 32 places), fourth down defense by 10% (up 21 places), sacks by .33 per game (up 13 places), scoring defense by three points per game (up 11 places) and total defense by 32 yards per game (up two places). From 2014-2020, Mason was the head coach at Vanderbilt where he became just the second coach in program history to lead a team to multiple bowl appearances. His 2018 team won six games and capped the regular season with a third straight victory over rival Tennessee and fifth in seven years. It also marked Vanderbilt’s second bowl appearance in three years under Mason. Mason, who was part of the Cruz and Cantwell College Sports Roundtable to discuss the Protect College Sports Act in June 2026, guided Vanderbilt to its eighth postseason appearance in 2016 and finished the regular season 6-6, including four wins over the final six games. The season featured marquee SEC victories over Georgia, Ole Miss and No. 24 Tennessee. Inside linebacker Zach Cunningham became Vanderbilt’s first consensus All-American in more than three decades, sweeping first-team honors.
